Review of Fools Die on Friday by Erle Stanley Gardner – e-book version coming soon

Kind of like cotton candy: lots of fun with no deeper meaning…

Aside from the rather macabre origins of the title (we’re told in the author’s note up front that executions in California are on Fridays), Fools Die on Friday is another light, quick read in Erle Stanley Gardner’s Bertha Cool/Donald Lam series.  To be sure, a series written over the decades from the late 1930s to the early 1970s is probably going to show a bit of age, and Fools Die on Friday has a few wince-worthy moments for modern readers.   But it seems a bit unfair to expect books that are more than 50 years old to have predicted and abided by current mores.  And all of the elements that make the Cool/Lam series my favorite of Gardner’s are there:   Donald’s ability to slide his way out of almost any trouble, usually with a wisecrack or two; Bertha’s amusingly blatant willingness to sway whichever way the money seems likely to go; the involvement of a good-looking dame somewhere along the way.  And the twist on the title at the end of the book is a unexpected surprise…

If you’re thinking about reading Fools Die on Friday, you should remember that the Cool/Lam books are kind of like cotton candy – but cotton candy is fun!   So, so long as you don’t expect to find lots of hidden meaning or angst or deep thought in its pages, and are willing to skip over a bit of mid-century sexism/racism, you’ll likely end up with a few hours of enjoyment.   Please note that I do try to limit the number of 5-star ratings I give, so for me, a 4-star rating is a solid “read-this-book” recommendation – with the provisos above.   And my thanks to Hard Case Crime and Edelweiss for the review copy. 

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